Letter: Constitutional protection of public pensions a mistake

Public unions have repeatedly taken the stand that their pensions are protected by the state Constitution, the rule of law.

George Soros, a major Democratic Party contributor, strategist and operative, warned about the unintended consequences of the rule of law with respect to economic matters in his recent book, “The Tragedy of the European Union.”

On page 74, Soros says that society can be “endangered by too much respect for the rule of law. We think of the rule of law as something that we all aspire to, but laws are fallible, like all human constructs. And when laws are based on faulty economic doctrines, the rule of law can do a lot of harm, especially if applied too literally.”

Putting the protection of public pensions in the state Constitution has proven to be a failed human construct and a faulty economic doctrine.

It’s failed human construct because lawmakers sought the votes and the vote-getting efforts of union members with overly generous, unfunded pension benefits that the citizens could not afford. It’s faulty economic doctrine because the law didn’t foresee the multitude of ways pensions payouts would subsequently be “legally” gamed by selling back sick leave, temporary spikes in pay to jump pension payouts, double dipping, adding employees that didn’t belong to the pension plans and other abuses.

Any law based on a faulty economic doctrine should be repealed for the protection of the majority of citizens. Fixing this mistake should be on the ballot this November.